An Unexpected Sorting
by Kishiro Kitsune
Summary: Pottertalia AU. Post-war. Oneshot. The subject of which House they'd be in was always something of a great debate in the Williams-Jones household. Alfred insisted they'd both be in Gryffindor, but Matthew had always been so sure he'd be placed into Hufflepuff.
**An Unexpected Sorting**

One thing was for certain, Hogwarts was the most impressive school Matthew had ever laid eyes on. Not that he'd seen many others to compare it to, but he didn't think that mattered, especially when his fellow First Years seemed equally as awed.

"Luddy, look at all of the paintings!"

Matthew glanced over at the tiny, brown-haired boy and his much taller friend. He and his brother, Alfred, had met the pair on the train, along with their (interesting) older brothers. The brunet was Feliciano, who hailed from a long line of Italian witches and wizards. The taller boy was Ludwig, whose family had long attended the eastern European school of Durmstrang, up until his older brother decided it was time for a change.

Ludwig grasped Feliciano's arm, preventing him from straying from the group to get a better look at the moving paintings. "Now's not the time. You can show me later."

Feliciano didn't sulk for long before something else attracted his attention. Unfortunately, the distraction came in the form of Alfred's worst fear.

"G-ghosts!" Alfred whimpered, tightly gripping Matthew's arm.

Matthew rolled his eyes. "Will you relax? They're not going to hurt you."

The ghosts turned to face the group and addressed them, clearly delighted by the promising number of new students for the year. Alfred squeaked in fright and cowered behind his brother, who didn't bother with trying to reason with him. There was nothing Matthew could do but wait for Deputy Headmaster Flitwick to return and lead them to the Great Hall.

He didn't have to wait long.

Very soon, he and all of the other new students were standing in the entrance to the Great Hall, huddled together as hundreds of eyes turned to gaze at them. Matthew nervously shuffled closer to Alfred, instinctively reaching out for his brother's hand. Feliciano, Ludwig, and a trembling boy who kept reaching up to adjust his glasses were the closest to them. Someone in the crowd was mumbling about all of the possible ways they could be Sorted into the houses, while others quietly reviewed spells under their breath.

Matthew turned his attention to the Deputy Headmaster as he scurried over to a stool set up at the front of the room, just in front of the Head Table. Resting upon the stool was an old, patched wizard's hat. All of the talking and laughter in the hall slowly died as everyone else stopped and stared.

"A hat?" Feliciano whispered, puzzled.

"Maybe we have to draw our House out of it?" Alfred suggested.

The tip of the hat twitched and then a rip at the brim opened. It took Matthew a moment to realize that not only could it speak, it was also a magnificent singer.

The hat sang of its own beginnings, of the Four Founders and the differences they prized most, and then a warning of how troubled times were not so far behind them. Unity, it cried, was necessary for a better future. And then the hat fell silent.

The tables around them erupted into mild applause, which quickly died as the Deputy Headmaster unfurled a long scroll and cleared his throat.

"When I call your name, please come forward!" He paused long enough to let his words sink in. "Adams, Daniel!"

"So all we have to do is put the hat on our head?" Alfred whispered, sounding relieved. He looked up at Ludwig. "Your bro's a real jerk. What was that mess about retrieving a shiny coin from a niffler?"

Ludwig sighed. "He likes to joke around. I'm sorry."

Daniel Adams was quickly placed in Ravenclaw and the following two girls went to Hufflepuff. The girl after them happily went to Gryffindor, where she was warmly greeted.

"Beilschmidt, Ludwig!"

Feliciano happily bounced, patting Ludwig on the arm. "That's you! Good luck!"

Ludwig managed a small smile for his friend and then walked forward to take a seat. He frowned the moment the hat touched his head and while it took noticeably longer than the first four kids, it still wasn't long before the hat loudly announced his House.

"RAVENCLAW!"

From the long table clad in yellow and black, a teen with shockingly white hair jumped to his feet with a delighted cheer. _"That's my brother!"_

Ludwig's entire face burned red as he took a seat next to a dark-haired Second Year.

The Sorting went by surprisingly fast from then on, with no one remaining on the stool for longer than a minute or two. Alfred was the next to leave their group and it came as no surprise when he was immediately placed in Gryffindor.

"King, Betsy!"

Feliciano looked surprised as a girl with blonde hair rushed forward, eager to be Sorted. "Wait, shouldn't you be next, Mattie?"

Matthew shook his head. "Me and Al have different last names. Mine's Williams."

"Oh." Feliciano looked a little relieved. "So we'll both be here for a while. I'm glad I won't be alone."

Time passed surprisingly fast from there. With Feliciano and the nameless trembling boy to talk to, Matthew didn't feel so lonely. He was sure they weren't really supposed to be talking, but he figured as long as they kept their voices down it wasn't such a big deal.

Sooner than any of them expected, they were the final three standing there.

"Vargas, Feliciano!"

The tiny brunet all but ran for the stool, sparking a round of laughter around the room. Feliciano flushed in embarrassment, but that was quickly covered up when the Deputy Headmaster dropped the Sorting Hat on his head and it slid down to cover his entire face.

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

Flitwick barely managed to remove the hat before Feliciano ran to sit down before Ludwig's brother and a teen with curly brown hair who couldn't stop smiling.

"von Bock, Eduard!"

Matthew tried not to look nervous as the quiet boy walked forward, leaving him standing alone by the large door leading into the Great Hall. He didn't have much time to fidget, as the moment the hat touched Eduard's head, it pronounced him a Ravenclaw.

"Williams, Matthew!"

He could feel the eyes of everyone in the room on him as he made the seemingly long walk to the stool. Matthew felt as though time was slowing down as he took a seat and chanced a look at the Gryffindor table, where his brother sat. Alfred caught his eye and gave him a thumbs up just before the hat obscured his vision.

" _Ah, another American. How interesting."_

Matthew flinched at the voice in his head. It took him enough by surprise that he momentarily forgot the good manners his mom spent most of his life instilling in him. "I'm _Canadian_ ," he corrected with a bit of a bite to his tone.

The Hat chuckled. _"So you are. Now, to more important matters. Where to put you? I spy courage within you, much like your brother, but there is a great loyalty that blazes even stronger in your heart."_ It paused. When it spoke again, it sounded uncertain. " _But there's something else. Something you keep hidden away from all."_

Matthew stiffened, his eyes going wide.

" _A desire to prove yourself different from your brother is nothing to be ashamed of. And that clever mind of yours means Slytherin would suit you well."_ Again, the Hat paused, that time as if waiting for something. _"Yes, I think you'd do quite well there. It best be_ SLYTHERIN!"

The moment he could see again, Matthew hopped down from the stool and headed towards the table of green and silver, where he was welcomed by a Third Year who introduced himself as Francis.

As Headmistress McGonagall stood to address the faculty and students with the usual start of term speech, Matthew chanced a glance at his brother, who met his eyes and nodded. His smile was a sad one, likely due to the disappointment of being separated.

But separation was what they needed. Back home, no matter how much he tried to show how different he was from Al, people still treated them as though they were exactly the same. Being in different Houses meant they'd both have the space they'd need to grow and find out who they were meant to be.

Matthew smiled and waved, promising himself he'd find Alfred the moment he had free time so they could talk.

It wasn't where he thought he'd be, but Matthew felt he'd easily settle into Slytherin.


End file.
